01 Oct IT’S OCTOBER!
That means that two wonderful things are happening this month:
- I finally turn 21!
- Scotland introduces its single use carrier bag tax of 5p
….is it bad that I’m more excited about the tax?!
I wrote a paper last year for one of my classes about the benefits of taxing plastic bags, and what I found was incredible: in every single city it was implemented, plastic bag use tends to decrease on average by 70 to 90%. This isn’t only because of the charge – sure, people hate paying extra for something they technically can do without – but being confronted with that charge at the till forces a moment of self-reflection. Having the cashier ask you if you’d like one and associating it with a concrete charge tends to make people think more in-depth about their wasteful habits and often guilts people into buying an eco-friendly bag to bring into the store next time.
For me, and for so many others I know who love and care about our environment in Scotland, plastic bags are such an eyesore that bring my mind straight to the image of birds choking, turtles being suffocated, and vegetation dying. Grim, I know, but it’s a hard truth that the people who take countless plastic bags every time they hit the store have apparently yet to realize. That’s why I am SO delighted that the Scottish government finally took action, and I am so thrilled to see the behaviour change as of October 20th!
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2014/9780111023211
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29355226
If you’re interested, here’s my assignment (I’ve removed all my personal details etc so it shouldn’t come back to the uni!) I wrote it under the false organization of “The Canadian Association for Marine Conservation”, as it was directed towards Toronto City Council. Also copyright etc my work please don’t plagiarise!
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